This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... is a vehicle for the Obama administration says CEO and lawyers for un intentional discrimination ... civil rights groups say yes but the state of Texas says now ... in the Supreme Court heard arguments this morning in a very important case ... Pacific legal Foundation DC executive director Todd as Eon now ... the former commissioner on the U S Commission on Civil rights joins the time ... but you weren't there this morning ... I'd tell us what's at stake here what's what's the core illegally she ... well the narrow issue involves the fair housing Act ... and whether the fair housing Act ... alone allows ... upper just ... liability for intentional discrimination ... or whether there's also a liability from banks lenders ... and state agencies that are involved in housing decisions ... on ... all of their decisions that have an unintended ... negative effect on ... pre much any racial group that that that could could bring a claim ... of but the larger issue is one involving a lot of federal civil rights statutes ... and and ... that is whether they can be read to allow that sort of ... disparate impact claim the court so far said some statutes Can and some can't ... the biggest issue will fall is whether that itself could be constitutional ... because the only way to prevent ... racial ... disparate impact ... is to take racial ... aam brings conscious decisions which is just another word for racial discriminate ok so what's a have a banking it lands to folks from mortgage is ... effectively the government is saying we want informal quotas you Appleand Eckstein Hispanics why the blacks ... in see the whites ... that this is our constitutional to meet side ... of the will of the ... justices react to the governments are in ... while the justices reacted pretty much according to expectations except perhaps for justice Billy up by Justice Thomas aam reacted as typical which was to not ask any questions ... on these more contemplative ... aam either too many other people it was of ... elbowing for remnants of very hot bench ... but either people or watching for Justice Kennedy because one of his two thousand and seven opinions ... left some opening ... up for him ... but still Leah was asking about the effect of some amendments in nineteen eighty eight ... and how that might change the underlying statute ... ALM so not what you think ... I think they're going to roll time ... well I felt pretty strongly that they would ... aam construe the statute not to allow disparate impact ... told foray back constitutional problem you and I were talking about they have a Canon ... of ... constitutional avoidance it's called and that's the way of ensuring ... the statute as chief Justice Marshall in eighteen thirty three articulated ... when there's two reasonable outcomes you should assume that Congress wanted to avoid the constitutional problem so I think that's the best way of of predicting how the score couldn't do well not to be too cynical but the administration has used this theory ... to shake down banks for millions of dollars that ... sets up the justices actually read the text of ... the top ... is in Italy the foundation executive director Todd as Eon an expert on ... thank you for having me back ...